The Dance
by Naeryn
Summary: What does Luke really think of Lorelai's drunken serenade? Lorelai? Lorelai?


All right, folks. I'm currently writing a freakishly angsty and depressing story, featuring Luke and Lorelai. So I decided to write a sappy little one-shot to lighten it for me a little bit. This is INCREDIBLY sappy, mushy, and probably a tad out of character for Luke, though I attempt to explain that as best I can within the story.

For the purpose of this story, pretend that the last two episodes of GG didn't happen. This picks up from a week after Lorelai's drunken serenade.

I don't own Gilmore Girls, or the song 'The Dance' by Garth Brooks.

* * *

Sookie grinned evilly. Her quarry was before her, turned away. Oblivious, apparently, staring off into space. She'd been doing that for the past half hour or so. Quietly, she crept up behind her and lifted one hand, forefinger extended.

"Gah!" Lorelai jumped half a foot into the air. She whirled around, her expression a mixture of fright, anger, and confusion. "Sookie! What are you…?" She trailed off, recognizing the look of mischief, and just a little bit of gloat, in her face. "What's going on?"

"Come with me to KC's tonight." Lorelai was horrified. Go back there? She doubted she could ever set foot in that place again. It had been one week – to the day – since her display of vocal talents; the choice of song, the hat, the alcohol – all had combined, when Luke showed up, to spell out utter disaster for Lorelai. No, there was no way she was going to go back there, and most definitely not on another karaoke night.

She coughed, eyes wide. "Are you kidding?" She sighed. "Sookie, I made a fool of myself. I'm not going back there. At least not for some time. Like, maybe I'll go right before I move to Alaska and take up dog sledding." Her voice dripped with the patented Lorelai sarcasm.

Shaking her head, Sookie reached out and placed one hand on Lorelai's shoulder. "Lorelai, you need to relax. No one cares about that… well, no, they do care. But only because this whole town loves you. They love the idea of you and Luke together, and their hearts are in the right place." She smiled. "It won't be so bad, really. You just need to get out of the house for a night, instead of lying in bed clinging onto that old flannel shirt."

Sputtering denials, Lorelai attempted to hide the slight colour that rose in her cheeks. "I do not cling on to an old flannel shirt!" She waved her hand in the air, refusing to meet Sookie's eyes. "Besides, I got rid of all Luke's stuff."

Eyes twinkling, Sookie smiled knowingly. "Of course you did. And you forgot about the blue and grey flannel shirt, because it was under your bed. You found it about a week ago, and you've been sleeping with the thing since."

With an irritated sigh, Lorelai gave up. "How the hell do you know that?"

"I know you, Lorelai. I saw the shirt tucked under your pillow last week when we were rearranging your bedroom, which you abruptly decided to do because things were suddenly too much 'the way they'd always been'." She shook her head. "Come with me. Get out of the house. I promise you don't have to stay long. Just meet me there at seven thirty, okay? Great, I'll see you there." Sookie bounced off without waiting for a legitimate answer.

Sometimes having people know you really well got very tiresome. With another annoyed puff of air, Lorelai returned to staring aimlessly out the window.

* * *

"Wow, who knew Al could sing?" Sookie laughed, watching the owner of Al's Pancake World walk off the stage after a rendition of Fly Me to the Moon. Lorelai clapped halfheartedly before downing the last of her margarita.

She'd only been there for fifteen minutes, and already she was bored, depressed, tired, and irritated. She looked down at the table and began to idly draw patterns with the water rings on the surface, until, a moment later, Sookie poked her arm. "Hey, Lorelai. Look."

Her eyes widened and her jaw hit the floor when she did; for, standing up there on the stage, was one Luke Danes. "What on earth…?"

Music began to play quietly. It sounded like a country song. Things were just getting weirder and weirder. Lorelai pinched herself; this had to be some insane, twisted dream. Luke? Singing? Luke singing country? It just didn't get weirder than that. "When did I walk into the Twilight Zone?"

Sookie just shook her head. "You didn't. Just pay attention."

"Looking back  
On the memory of  
The dance we shared  
Beneath the stars above."

Closing her mouth, Lorelai sighed. The words conjured a picture in her mind, recalling their first dance together at Liz's wedding, when she'd discovered that Luke knew how to waltz – and was good at it. That was probably when she'd realized she wasn't looking at him the same way anymore. On hindsight, she'd not looked at him as just a friend for some time, but it hit her that night. Dancing with him had inspired the strangest feeling in her.

She had loved dancing with Luke. They'd danced twice more that night, though neither were slow. He knew swing, as well, which coloured her impressed.

"For a moment  
All the world was right  
How could I have known  
That you'd ever say goodbye?"

Now, those words bit. They sunk to the quick. For just a moment, Lorelai was angry. She hadn't said goodbye – he let her walk away. But as quickly as it came, her flash of anger was gone; Luke wasn't psychic. Had it been him, she knew, he would have wanted to be left alone. He would have wanted her to wait until the next day, and talk to him then – which was what Luke did. She shook her head, wondering. Where had they gone wrong? She still wasn't entirely certain.

"And now  
I'm glad I didn't know  
The way it all would end  
The way it all would go  
Our lives  
Are better left to chance  
I could have missed the pain  
But I'd have had to miss the dance."

Heat built up behind her eyes. Somehow, at first, he was talking about their dance, at the wedding, when things started between them. And suddenly, it was their whole relationship, ups, downs, and sideways crabwalks. She sunk her teeth into her lip, eyes fixed on Luke, standing up on the stage and looking, for the first time since she'd known him, completely vulnerable.

"Holding you  
I held everything  
For a moment  
Wasn't I the king?"

Sookie's hand inched over and grasped Lorelai's. She was grateful, understanding immediately the support being offered. Lorelai sniffed, swallowing hard. The lump in her throat made it a little difficult to breathe. She reached up with her free hand and pressed it against her chest.

"But if I'd only known  
How the king would fall  
Then who's to say  
You know, I might have changed it all."

If she could keep her sniffles to a relative minimum, she might be able to pass it off to the assembled townsfolk – and as Miss Patty was there again, to the entire town – as a slight cold. However, if she was going to do that, the song had better end, and soon. Lorelai's grip on Sookie's hand tightened as she watched the half-pained, half-joyful expression on Luke's face, or at least as much of an expression as he ever wore.

"And I  
I'm glad I didn't know  
The way it all would end  
The way it all would go  
Our lives  
Are better left to chance  
I could have missed the pain  
But I'd have had to miss the dance."

As the music swelled up again, that was it. She, Lorelai Gilmore, was an official basketcase. Tears broke free to pour down her cheeks as the hint of a bittersweet smile lit her face. "Oh Luke…" She whispered to no one in particular. Then, for the first time through the song, Luke's eyes met hers, and in a flash she could see the longing and desire, and, above all, love, in them. Directed at her. Pouring out at her.

How had she ever doubted him, when it was right there for her to see? She kicked herself for a moment. She hadn't even paid attention.

"Yes, my life  
It's better left to chance  
I could have missed the pain  
But I'd have had to miss the dance."

The music faded. There was silence throughout the bar for a minute before applause shook the place. In imitation of Lorelai the week before, Luke lifted his hand in a sort of embarrassed half-wave and hurried off the stage.

Lorelai looked over at Sookie, releasing the other woman's hand. "Sookie…"

A smile and a nod was the response she got. Before she knew what she was doing, and without giving herself time to think herself out of it, she stood and walked out of KC's, only one thought on her mind – finding Luke.

* * *

An hour later, she found him. He was standing on the bridge, looking out over what Stars Hollow passed off as a lake. Quietly, she walked up and stood next to him, staring straight ahead as he chucked small stones into the water.

They stood like that for… who knew how long, ten minutes, thirty minutes, an hour. Finally, Lorelai broke the silence. "Luke." Her voice shook, her tears having stopped falling only minutes before finding him.

"I tried a whole bunch of ways. Before we got together, I mean. Tried to tell you I was interested in you, but you didn't really, you know, pick up on it." He chucked another rock, watching it hit the water. "Building you the chuppah. Helping out around the house, bringing you food when you were sick." He sighed. "I don't do big gestures, Lorelai. It took us having an argument to finally get together."

Her gaze dropped a little and she nodded halfheartedly. "I know. I'm not really a subtle person. I don't tend to pick up on subtlety, either. Well, unless it's my parents' veiled insults, I'm good at deciphering those. It comes from a lifetime of…"

"Lorelai."

"Sorry." She bit her lip.

Luke turned, looking over at the woman beside him. She really was beautiful. No, she wasn't perfect, but perfect would be entirely too intimidating. "I was scared, Lorelai. You were right, I should have figured how April would fit into our lives, and not the other way around. I should have asked you for help – I could have used it. But I was scared, so I used April to get away from you. I should have just talked to you about it."

Sighing, Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, you should have. But, then, I shouldn't have given you an ultimatum… and then expected you to run after me, knowing, somehow, that I wanted you to, when I knew perfectly well that were our situations reversed, you'd want to be left alone." She shook her head. "We really need to work on communication."

"We?"

Lorelai looked over at him and smiled softly. "If you want."

He lifted his arm and draped it over her shoulders, pulling her close. Gently, he captured her lips with his. Their mouths tangled for a moment, and then separated, both smiling. Lorelai rested her head against his shoulder, eyes closed, and a soft smile on her lips. "Luke?"

"Yeah, Lorelai?"

"Can we go home?"

"Yeah, Lorelai."

* * *

Reviews? Pretty please?


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